Mission

The mission of the Capstone College of Nursing is to promote the health and well-being of the people of the State of Alabama, the nation, and the world through nursing education, research, scholarship, and service.

Vision

Nationally recognized as an innovative and inclusive environment for transforming nursing education, research, scholarship, and service.

Goals

Provide high quality undergraduate and graduate nursing education.

Increase scholarly productivity and leadership in areas of expertise.

Attract and support diverse faculty, staff and student populations, and promote inclusivity.

Participate as teachers and role models for healthy living and work-life balance.

Core Values

Excellence

Excellence is obtaining the highest level of achievement in education, practice, and scholarship. It is founded on evidence-based practices leading to innovative teaching, practice and scholarship. The focus for excellence is centered around students, faculty, and the community. Achievement of excellence requires diligent and continual pursuit of professional knowledge and expertise, and a faculty whose expertise complements the mission and vision.

Professionalism

Professionalism encompasses values and associated behaviors foundational to nursing and is based on ethical principles and standards of nursing education and practice. Development of these values and behaviors is promoted through socialization into the profession. Professional nursing requires the use of evidence-based knowledge and skills in the provision of care and in collaboration and teamwork with other disciplines. Professionalism includes the generation and refinement of knowledge through the research process and other scholarly activities. Expected behaviors include accountability, dependability, responsibility, autonomy, leadership.

Innovation

Innovation is utilizing acquired knowledge, skills and theoretical concepts to creatively generate novel approaches to improve teaching, clinical practice and research paradigms. These novel approaches are important to advance educational, clinical and research practices essential to improve and enhance people’s health and quality of life, as well as to move the profession of nursing forward.

Inclusiveness

Inclusiveness is embracing the unique attributes and contributions of all individuals to enhance the richness of the academic environment regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, political beliefs, spiritual perspectives or other ideologies. It is creating a civil environment where individuals feel supported, listened to, and able to do their personal best. The Capstone College of Nursing dedicates itself to build a culture grounded in individuality, sensitivity, tolerance, good will, social justice and cultural humility.

Integrity

Integrity is firm adherence to a code of ethical and moral values and behaviors, a soundness of decision-making, honesty and accountability for actions based on an internally consistent framework of principles. Nursing practice is based on ethical principles and standards of nursing education and practice. Personal integrity is acquired over a lifetime. Professional integrity is modeled and mentored during the educational process and provides a foundation for practice that can be sustained for the duration of a nurse’s career. Faculty embraces principles governing integrity and affirms the importance of diligence, civility, and honesty in the academic environment. The professoriate aims to foster an environment of trust, clarity of expectations, and fair assessment that promote academic honesty.

Caring

Caring is the essence of nursing and is expressed in interpersonal relationships to promote the health and well-being of individuals and populations globally. Caring may include respect, compassion, attentive listening, comforting, patience, cultural humility, positive role modeling, therapeutic touch, sensitivity, and advocacy.

Student-centered Learning

Student-centered learning focuses on students’ responsibility for active involvement and participation in the educational process and provides the foundation for lifelong learning. Student-centered learning promotes deeper learning and understanding than the memorization of facts. Faculty are resources and facilitators of learning, who demonstrate caring behaviors that engage students in active learning. These strategies may include collaborative/group activities, activities to promote intellectual discovery, creative problem-solving, and activities that provide practice in learning skills.